Ash Wednesday
March 5, 2025
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The Rev’d Charles W. Everson
Church of the Atonement
Today is a day of contradiction.
We hear Jesus tell us, “Beware of practicing your piety before others”, and then we leave this place with ashes on our forehead.
The word piety in Greek is better translated as righteousness or justice.[1] Jesus can’t be telling us not to perform just or righteous acts as just a few verses earlier in Matthew 5 he says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”[2]
So if he’s not telling us to avoid doing specific things, what is he saying? The key here is intention. Beware of practicing your righteous acts before others in order to be seen by them.
You might be asked this question sometime over the next forty days, perhaps by a pesky priest: “How is your Lenten fast going?” Or, perhaps, “What did you give up for Lent?” Beware of the temptation to respond, “I gave up ____” as if whatever it is you gave us is especially important, and as if you think you’re honestly going to make it until Easter without ____. Resist the temptation to use Lenten traditions to make yourself look good. Instead, approach Lent with a great, big dose of humility. I mean, in a moment, I’m going to literally put ashes on your forehead and say, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” a reminder that one day, you will die.
What is your intention when you wake up in the morning? To live your life serving God and your neighbor, or to live your life serving yourself?
If you’re like me, most mornings, you don’t intentionally make that decision one way or another. Instead, you settle into habit. Perhaps you head to the coffee pot, then drink your coffee while reading the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune, then you go to work, read your email, do your thing. Then you come home, check the mail, cook a bit of dinner, do a couple of chores, watch some of TV, then go to bed.
Lent is a time to intentionally disrupt our habits and routines. We are called to purposefully practice those spiritual habits that train our souls to choose to live for God and our neighbor rather than ourselves. The primary spiritual disciplines we practice are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
The Church’s call to prayer during Lent is the call to sit down, shut up, and listen to God. Yes, we might have words to say at some point, but the most overlooked part of prayer is listening. I encourage you to incorporate silence into your prayer life in some way this Lent. If you’re like me, long periods of silence make you uncomfortable. Try to sit and quiet your mind and your soul for just five minutes each day. It won’t be easy, as your thoughts will try to get in the way and distract you. Have a key word or phrase to come back to when you get distracted – like “Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner,” or “Holy Spirit, fill me with your love.” Being silent and listening to God forces us to train ourselves to become more aware of the voice of the Holy Spirit around us.
Secondly, we are invited to fast. In denying yourself things that you need – like food – you become more aware of the needs of others and more sensitive to hearing the voice of God. Forget the bit about doing without potato chips or sugar in your coffee. That isn’t a penitent act of self-denial, it is doing without a tiny luxury. Go deeper! Choose not to eat one meal that you enjoy each day. Or fast for one day each week during Lent. Or, if your one drink a day has unhelpfully turned into perhaps three, give up alcohol. The important thing is that whatever it is that you’re fasting from is either something you need or something that will be very difficult to give up. Fasting is a powerful discipline, and I promise, if you decide to fast in some way during Lent, you will be surprised at how you become aware of the spiritual world around you.
And lastly, we are called to give alms, or material goods to the poor and needy. There are two organizations we partner with that I’d ask you to consider this Lent: Care for Friends, and Care for Real. There’s more info on this in the announcements section of your bulltin, but you can volunteer your time, your money, as well as donate in-kind food and clothing items. It’s also in the email newsletter and will be for the next few weeks as well. If there are other organizations near and dear to your heart, go for it! The important thing is to intentionally serving the poor in an extraordinary way during Lent.
As you finalize your Lenten plans on how you might pray, fast, and give alms to the poor during Lent, I encourage you to question your intentions. If you’re doing any of these things before others in order to be seen by them, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. But instead, if your intentions are to love God and your neighbor, you will be changed in ways you cannot even imagine.
[2] Matthew 5:20
Comments